MIAMI.- A young man has been arrested for allegedly stealing a woman’s car which he fatally ran over and then fled, leaving her body in the middle of a street in southwest Miami.
The driver has been identified as Jonah Desaulniers, 23, charged with first degree murder and being held without bond.
The incident occurred around 5:45 a.m. Thursday in the 27th Avenue and 22nd Terrace area in the southwest county.
Miami police say Desaulniers stole the victim’s car when he was confronted by the car’s owner, who was eventually run over and died at the scene.
The woman was later identified as 71-year-old Mercedes Lopez.
Shortly after this incident, Coral Gables Police arrived at the scene of another reported crash at the intersection of Miracle Mile and Salzedo Street in the City of Coral Gables, where no injuries were reported.
The vehicle involved in this event was a maroon Honda SUV, which matched the description of the car involved in the Miami crash where the elderly woman ended up dead.
Police found the van and detained Jonah Desaulniers, who was taken to a nearby hospital and treated before being taken into custody.